Observer Name
Jonathan Falconer
Observation Date
Sunday, February 19, 2017
Avalanche Date
Sunday, February 19, 2017
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Days Fork » Days Draw
Location Name or Route
Days Draw
Elevation
9,600'
Slope Angle
38°
Trigger
Snowboarder
Trigger: additional info
Intentionally Triggered
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Avalanche Problem
New Snow
Weak Layer
New Snow/Old Snow Interface
Depth
10"
Width
50'
Vertical
200'
Comments
My partner and I went up Chicken Shit Ridge in Days Fork with a plan of riding Benson and Hedges if stability was good and Day's Draw if it was not. Once on the ridge we watched some skiers descend and stability looked alright, although visibility was not very good with much cloud cover, snow, and flat light. We decided to ride down the ridge to observe Benson and Hedges and on a test slope on the ridge I made a hard cut and propogated a small storm slab with a 10 foot crown. This immediately changed our plan to Day's Draw, and my partner and I began to descend carefully. Above a steep slope, my partner made a cut before coming to a ridge above some trees and created a large, 50 foot wide slide that broke below him. I went on the ridge skier's left of his slide and I made a cut above a tree and propagated a 20 foot wide slide. From here we rode my partner's slide path one by one and carefully rode down the slope following ridge lines and protected areas. My lesson here was that in unstable conditions, not only is it less safe, but the riding is not as fun on steep slopes when you have to constantly worry about storm slabs. The best riding we had came on the lower 30 degree slopes.
